Day 63: You Stupid Galatians!

The book of Galatians is short (only 6 chapters) and Paul doesn't have time to be subtle.  So, after brief, perfunctory greetings, he gets right to the point:

What the heck is wrong with them?????

Why are they abandoning the gospel he preached to them?

That's what he has been hearing.  Since Paul has left the church in Galatia, others have come, and they have been telling the Galatians that trust in Jesus' death and resurrection is not enough to be considered a follower of Jesus.  They also need to be circumcized, and keep the law.  This Paul emphatically rejects.  And he is angry that it is so easy for them to desert the gospel and cling, instead, to the law.

These false teachers are often called "Judaizers."  While Paul is careful not to tell the Galatians that the law is bad, he wants them to know that the law does not save them.  Paul tells the Galatians that the other apostles agreed with him on this (including Peter, who is called "Cephas" in this letter), and he feels that they were cowardly and hypocritical to cave in when opposition hit.

Paul is not going to do this.  He tells the Galatians a little of his own history, about how he, a zealous Pharisee, came to believe in Jesus, and how he came to be an apostle to the Gentiles.  He gives a short, passionate synopsis of his theology from Romans:  The righteous will live by their faith.  And the covenant with Abraham, based on Abraham's trust, takes precedence over the covenant based on the law.  In fact, the covenant that is based on the giving of the law actually depends on the covenant God gave with Abraham.

Do you ever wonder:  why is Paul so passionate about this?  What's the big deal?  What is he afraid of?  What is the slippery slope here?

Perhaps, as we complete the letter tomorrow, we'll get some ideas.

Day 48: Abraham, Adam, Jesus -- Peace with God

In the next three chapters are three different models for us.  In Chapter 4 we meet Abraham, the father of Israel, the father of the circumcised, the one who originally heard God, and set out on a journey to a place he had never been before.  Paul makes the argument that Abraham is the father not just of Israel, not just of the circumcised, but of all who trust God's faithfulness.   Didn't God's call to Abraham (and Abraham's answer) precede his circumcision? Paul asks.  (Yes).  Well, then, it is not circumcision that makes the difference but it is faith in God.  It is trust in Christ's faithfulness, not whether we meet a particular legal requirement, that makes the difference.

Before we meet the next model (Adam), there is that wonderful portion of Romans 5 that shows us the consequences of trusting in Christ's faithfulness:  peace with God.  This peace transcends our circumstances, builds character, and gives meaning to our suffering, because God's love has overflowed into our hearts.

So, what about Adam?  Paul also lists Adam as a model -- a model not of obedience but of disobedience, not of trust but of distrust.  Adam and Eve were in the garden, with free gifts all around them, and instead of seeing the abundance of gifts, they focused on the one thing denied them.    Paul says -- we are like Adam -- and yet, God values us, loves us, and Jesus died for us.

Then, finally, is Jesus, the third model.  Unlike Adam, Jesus trusts God.  Jesus is faithful to God -- and to us.  Somehow because of this faithfulness, the cycle of sin is broken, and we are set free.  We don't have to obey God, out of fear or obligation.  But we get to hear God's voice, experience God's love and caring, and help our neighbor in ways that really help.

Paul is talking about, trying to explain big things, big concept:  Freedom and captivity, sin and faith and righteousness.  What do those words mean to you?  What does it mean to be free?  or, not free?